Since the camera became a staple consumer product, the ability to organize and retrieve photographs has been a challenge.
In the past, well organized amateur photographers, had pictures developed and promptly placed them in photo albums. Oftentimes, the photo albums would be labeled in some fashion identifying an event or vacation, characterizing the photographs in the albums.
Some photographers meticulously labeled photographs. Many photographers creating photo albums neglected to meaningfully label the photographs. Still other photographers stored photographs in drawers, boxes, or the like in less organized arrangements.
Frequently, many years after taking a photograph, it is extremely difficult for a viewer of the photograph, even the photographer, to accurately identify the photograph. As decades passed, accurately identifying babies, distant relatives and a multitude of photographed images became a challenging guessing game.
With the advent of digital cameras, amateur photographers have become less judicious in the number of photographs taken. For the vast majority of photographers, organizing the digital photographs remains a challenge.
While conventional software exists for organizing such digital photographs, many typical digital camera users download photographs to a PC and do not take the time to organize and identify such downloaded photographs.
Many users employ PowerPoint presentations to display vacation photos to friends and family. Photographs taken on a vacation that are utilized in a PowerPoint presentation are not self-identifying and are typically presented accompanied by an oral explanation by one of the vacationers.
The illustrative implementations employ unique digital camera electronics and software for associating in real-time during the picture taking/scene capturing process, the image captured together with a description of the photograph during the time frame when the photograph is first taken. More particularly, the illustrative implementations are embodied in a portable image capturing device such as a digital camera, a cell phone having camera functionality, a PDA having camera functionality or any other electronic device having camera functionality. Such devices preferably include a subsystem permitting the photographer to identify the photograph taken with a set of image characterization data, such that the image characterization data is associated with the image file.
More particularly, in an illustrative implementation, just prior or just after a photograph is taken, a user is permitted to generate an audio description of the photograph including a set of image characterization data. For example, such image characterization data may identify “who” is in the photograph, “what” the photograph depicts (e.g., the Jefferson Memorial), “where” the photograph was taken, and “when” it was taken.
Such an audio input, in accordance with an illustrative implementation, is coupled to a voice (i.e., speech) recognition and processing subsystem in which the decoded speech data is transcribed into textual data that describes the picture and that is associated with its corresponding captured image data (e.g., DCF) file. In an illustrative implementation such descriptive text is displayed at, for example, a location at a desired border of the photograph.
In this fashion, a user, regardless of the output media chosen to be the recipient of the image file and the descriptive text, the photograph is generated along with image characterization data to generate a data package that meaningfully identifies the photograph many years after the photograph is taken.
In accordance with an illustrative implementation, as opposed to the generated transcription being a rote translation of the words spoken by the photographer, the identification system is designed to extract from the user's input image characterization data (ICD) categories. For example, as journalists are trained in reporting on an event to include the “who, what, when, where, and why” information associated with the event, illustrative image characterization categories will include “who” is depicted in the picture, e.g., Mom and Dad, “what” the photograph depicts, e.g., the Eifel Tower, “where” the picture was taken, e.g., Paris, France, and “when” the picture was taken, e.g., Oct. 1, 2010.
In this fashion, the judicious selection of predesigned target categories of image characterization data, permits the speech recognition and transcription systems to be less complex and able to more accurately transcribe the photographers description of the image.
Additionally, in an illustrative implementation, an image/photograph retrieval system is described herein where, for example, image files are retrieved based on a wide range of criteria including, for example, the “who”, “what”, “when”, and “where” categories of image characterization data. In this fashion, by, for example, inputting “Dad” every photograph where Dad is depicted may be immediately accessed and displayed on the device LCD display or on a interconnected PC or home television. Moreover, such pictures of Dad may be retrieved such that they are sequenced chronologically based on the date the photograph was taken in light of the “when” image characterization field.
Similarly, all photographs may be readily accessed based on the “where” field to thereby permit a user to access every photo relating to a favorite vacation spot, for example, the Amalfi Coast of Italy.
Moreover, in an illustrative implementation, the camera includes a WiFi communications module to, for example, enable email functionality. In an illustrative implementation, one or more email addresses are stored after entry by the owner during, for example, the initial time the camera is used. Thereafter, predetermined control key operations initiate the automatic emailing of, for example, the most recently captured image to the one or more stored email addresses. In illustrative implementations, it is also contemplated that additional email operations may be performed by keying in the addresses or via replying to a received email.
These and other features of the illustrative implementation will become apparent from a review of the drawings of which: